Lead and cadmium in organisms of commercial importance in the coastal zone of Sinaloa, Mexico: 20 years of studies.

Abstract

El plomo y el cadmio pueden afectar la salud de los ecosistemas y de los consumidores de alimentos con alto contenido de estos metales, que son entre los más ampliamente utilizados en diferentes actividades humanas y que además son entre los principales productos mineros de México. La principal actividad de Sinaloa es la agricultura, por lo cual fertilizantes y plaguicidas son fuentes importantes de contaminación por estos metales. En este artículo, después de revisar las posibles fuentes naturales y las principales actividades humanas que aportan estos metales a las aguas marinas costeras del Estado de Sinaloa, se resumen los resultados de las investigaciones realizadas en las dos décadas más recientes sobre el contenido de cadmio y plomo en los tejidos comestibles de varios organismos acuáticos de los cuerpos de agua costeros del Estado. En el caso del cadmio, las mayores concentraciones se encontraron en el sistema lagunar Altata-Ensenada del Pabellón, posiblemente a causa de las actividades agrícolas del valle de Culiacán. Las concentraciones de plomo en los tejidos blandos de bivalvos parecen indicar una tendencia a la disminución, posiblemente relacionado con el uso de gasolina sin plomo, aunque esto no coincide con los valores encontrados en el tejido comestible de camarones. Además, todos los valores de plomo son superiores a los valores que indican la presencia de impactos ambientales. En cuanto a posibles riesgos para los consumidores de pescados y mariscos, no se encontraron valores superiores a los niveles de riesgo en el músculo de crustáceos y peces, mientras que exceden los recomendados en el caso del contenido de cadmio de algunos bivalvos. Lead and cadmium in organisms of commercial importance in the coastal zone of Sinaloa, Mexico: 20 years of studies Lead and cadmium may affect the health of ecosystems and of the consumers of food items d with these metals, which are widely used in several human activities and are, in addition, among contaminate the most important products of Mexican mining activities. Agriculture is the main activity in the State of Sinaloa, and for this reason pesticides and fertilizers are important sources of contamination with both metals. In this article we revise the possible natural sources and the main human activities which may contribute these metals to the coastal waters of the Mexican State of Sinaloa, and summarize the results of the investigations of the latest two decades on the lead and cadmium contents of the edible tissues of several aquatic organisms of its coastal water bodies. The highest cadmium concentrations were those found in the Altata-Ensenada del Pabellón lagoonal system, possibly as a result of the agricultural activities of the Culiacán plains. Lead concentrations in bivalves seem to indicate a tendency to lower values, possibly due to the use of unleaded gasoline, although this does not coincide with the values found in shrimp muscles. In addition, all lead values are above the level indicating the presence of environmental impact. The cadmium content of some bivalve exceed the level of risk for human health, whereas the lead and cadmium contents of fish and crustacean edible tissues are below the level of concern.

Humoral and Haemocytic Responses ofLitopenaeus vannameito Cd Exposure

“…The coastal environments of the Mexican Pacific receive metal contaminants from multiple sources, such as the several rivers flowing from important mining districts [ 1 ] and the waterways and canals draining the fertile coastal plains of the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, which support highly intensive agricultural activities [ 2 , 3 ]. Because of this, the metal contents of the marine biota are under continuous scrutiny [ 4 , 5 ], and among these the levels of cadmium detected in different aquatic organisms of the coastal environments of NW Mexico indicate that this metal might become of concern for aquatic life and possibly for human health [ 6 ].…”

Cadmium, Copper, Lead, and Zinc Contents of Fish Marketed in NW Mexico

“…Agriculture, mining, and food processing are the main industrial activities in the Mexican NW, and their effluents may increase the level of coastal pollution, which could be one of the reasons for the high Pb and possibly Cd levels found in aquatic organisms of Sinaloa State coastal waters [ 3 ].…”

“…There is information on the metal content of some fish species of several lagoons and coastal areas of NW Mexico [ 3 , 4 ], but none is available for fish sold in public markets. In this work, we determined the cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) contents in samples of four fish species which were selected because of their local origin and their high consumption, in view of their affordable price.…”